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Chapter 4 - Chapter 3: Books, Bonds, and Broken Time

A few days had passed since the battle.

Hogwarts was wounded but alive. The Great Hall was being rebuilt. The students — what was left of them — were trying to remember what "normal" even looked like.

Chris wasn't a student.

But that didn't stop him from walking beside Hermione Granger, headed toward the Restricted Section of the library.

📚 "The Library's Still Magical…"

— "You know, after everything," she said softly, "I thought this place would feel… different. Emptier."

Chris smiled.

— "Still smells like old parchment and arrogance."

Hermione chuckled. "You sound like me in first year."

She led him past shattered bookcases and floating lanterns, to a hidden stairwell behind a shelf labeled 'Obscura Magicka'. She tapped her wand on a rune.

— "Lumos Aeternam."

The shelf shimmered… and opened like a door.

— "This way."

🧠 System Notification

Editar📚 Area Discovered: Hidden Vault - Archive of Forgotten Magic 🎴 Bond with Hermione Granger deepened. 🔓 Dual Study Session Available: Unlocks 1 Rare Spell (Random) Spend 1 Destiny Point to proceed? → [Yes]

Chris thought: Let's see what this world really hides.He chose [Yes].

The room lit up with silver runes along the walls. Tomes floated out of their shelves. A single book glowed golden in the center, bound in phoenix feather and black leather.

Hermione gasped.

— "I've never seen this before…"

The book landed between them, pages fluttering open by itself.

🔮 Spell Unlocked: "Tempus Fragor" – Shatter Time"

Type: TemporalEffect: Momentarily freezes the surrounding 10 seconds, allowing one action to be taken outside of time.Limitation: High magical drain. Requires intense focus and emotional clarity.

Chris blinked. The words on the page glowed blue — only visible to him now. Hermione only saw ink.

She looked at him.

— "Why do I feel like this spell… chose you?"

He couldn't answer. Not before—

💥 System Alert: Temporal Instability Detected!

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Editar⚠️ Anomaly Identified: "Cedric Diggory – Status: Alive (Error)" 📍 Location: Hogwarts Infirmary ⏳ Timeline Stability: Dropping (→ 43%) 🌀 Anchor Event: The Wrong Person Survived the Triwizard Tournament System Choice: A) Ignore – Stability may drop further. B) Investigate with Hermione – She may suspect you. C) Use Tempus Fragor – Risk magical backlash.

Chris looked at Hermione. She hadn't seen the alert. But the air around them was shifting — like the castle was breathing wrong.

— "I need to check something," he said, turning quickly.

She followed. Of course she did.

— "Chris? What's going on?"

— "I… I think someone didn't die when they were supposed to."

Her eyes narrowed. "That's not a thing people say casually."

🏥 Infirmary

Cedric was alive. Pale. Breathing. No memory of Voldemort. No Triwizard trauma. Just a confused boy who never picked up the Cup.

Hermione whispered: "But… he died. We saw—"

Suddenly—

The room cracked. Not physically — but time itself shivered. The windows fractured like mirrors. Spells began floating backward mid-cast. Chris's System screamed:

Editar⚠️ CRITICAL: Paradox Breach Time Collapse in 00:00:10 Use "Tempus Fragor" to stabilize? Cost: -1 Spell Slot | +Exhaustion

Chris reached into the air — and time stopped.

🕰️ The Moment Between Moments

Everything froze. Spells mid-flight. Wind frozen. Hermione caught in a gasp. Only Chris moved.

He walked to Cedric, touched his chest, and the System let him feel the thread of time. Unnatural. Wrong.

He whispered:

— "You're not meant to be here… not yet."

With a breath, he pulled the thread — not killing Cedric, but rewinding him to the moment of his death.

A tear slipped from Chris's eye.

Then—

Time shattered back into place.

🧠 System Update

Editar✅ Timeline Restored 🎯 +2 Destiny Points Gained 💤 Chris Status: Exhausted (Magic Locked for 24 Hours) 💬 Bond with Hermione: +Shock, +Suspicion

Hermione stared at him. Frozen. Unmoving.

Then: "Chris… what are you?"

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